The Korea Times

Jajangmyeon prices show yawning gap

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter “Jajangmyeon,” or noodles with black bean sauce, is a popular Korean-style Chinese dish. It is a popular choice for ordinary people because of its cheap price and is available for convenient delivery almost 24 hours a day. But pricewise, the meal is not as economical as people think and there is a wide gap in price depending on where it is served. Seoul City surveyed 2,630 Chinese restaurants in the city and found that the Chinese restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan District sells the most expensive jajangmyeon, priced at 12,500 won ($10.42). In close second place, a restaurant in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam district and a restaurant in Lotte Hotel World in Songpa district sell a bowl of black bean noodles at 12,000 won. Next in line, there are some 60 other stores that sell jajangmyeon for more than 6,000 won, which can be considered as 'high-end' jajangmyeon. “Though jajangmyeon sold at hotel restaurants is expensive, we provide the best service and high quality ingredients, which is all reflected in the price,” a hotel spokesperson

May 27, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

Companies

United Airlines introduces lie-flat seat

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter The United States-based United Airlines (UA) has introduced lie-flat seats in its first and business class sections on flights connecting Incheon and San Francisco. The ``bed seats'' in business class can be reclined 180 degrees, providing comfort equivalent to a bed. Passengers can watch movies and television shows, play video games and connect their iPod or iPhone through adjustable video screens. An AC power source is provided for their convenience. The guests of first and business class will be served with gourmet dishes devised by Chef Charlie Trotter paired with wines recommended by sommelier Doug Frost. Currently, the carrier provides lie-flat business seats on all Boeing 747 planes serving Asia. It also has Economy Plus seats, which offers 13-centimeter extra space for economy class passengers. The global carrier also supports cultural exchange between Korea and the U.S. As a part of this, the UA donated 30 million won to the Korean Symphony Orchestra as a sponsor its U.S. tour planned in June. "In 2007, we worked together wit

May 27, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

KBS, MBC to sue SBS for World Cup broadcasting

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter The 2010 World Cup is just around the corner, but major broadcasting stations are still fighting over the broadcasting rights of the games. One day after SBS, the nation’s third largest broadcaster, announced that the network is going to broadcast the South Africa World Cup unilaterally, KBS and MBC immediately slammed SBS for breaking ongoing negotiations over joint broadcasting and said they will take legal action against the company. KBS called SBS’ decision “regrettable” and said the latter did not want to broadcast together in the first place. MBC said it will file both criminal and civil suits against SBS and its Chairman Yoon Se-young and other executives for interfering with business. “We will sue SBS for impeding our business, as they broke an agreement to jointly negotiate for the World Cup broadcasting rights in 2006,” MBC spokesperson Choi Gi-hwa said. The broadcaster claimed that SBS knew the bid price of the joint team and added a premium in a separate bid to win the rights. “We conceded to SBS in the World Cup b

May 26, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

134 unionized teachers face dismissals in June

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter The 134 unionized public school teachers, who hold indicted for illegal membership in the Democratic Labor Party(DLP), will be forced to stop teaching from June 1, the education authorities said Thursday. The education ministry said it has ordered regional education offices to dismiss the teachers, all members of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union (KTU), for having regularly paid dues to the progressive minor opposition party since 2005. The related civil servant laws bar public workers and teachers from taking part in political activities. It is the first time that more than 100 public school teachers face dismissal for their political activities since the inception of the teachers’ union in 1999. The KTU is protesting the government’s decision. “There is no precedent for dismissing teachers just a week after announcing the punishment,” a KTU official said. “There is political intention behind it ahead of the June 2 local elections.” The union said it will allow the disciplined teachers to retain their KTU member

May 26, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Please tone down campaign jingles!

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter In a desperate effort to attract voter attention, candidates for the June 2 local elections have been blaring their campaign jingles out of loudspeakers installed on their vans, roaming apartment complexes and around office buildings. Will their campaign noise help win votes? It seems many citizens do not think so. Kim Won-ho, a 30-year-old office worker, had his weekend ruined because of the loud campaign jingles played in front of his apartment building. "For the June 2 elections, I have to choose from eight candidates. With so many candidates vying to win seats, their campaigns seem to be louder than usual," Kim said. Though he recognizes the need for election campaigns, he was annoyed by the unwanted noise. "I know one thing for sure - I will not vote for the city council candidate who canvassed so loudly on Saturday morning," he said. With the elections just one week away, candidates are turning their loudspeakers' volume up to publicize their campaign pledges. However, the candidates' noisy efforts are causing discontent among m

May 25, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Seoul suspected of releasing fish into Cheonggye Stream

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Seoul City has boasted of the diverse species of fish that swim into the artificial Cheonggye Stream from lower natural streams such as the Jungnang Stream thanks to its eco-friendly restoration project. But an environmental organization Monday raised questions about the city's claim, saying that the fish have been actually been placed there by city officials. For instance, a dark chub found at Cheonggye Stream originally lives in Seomjin River, which passes through Jeolla Province, in the southwest of the nation. The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) said that Seoul City brought 50 dark chub from a fresh-water fish researcher in 2006 and released them into the Cheonggye Stream on purpose. "We suspect that the city deliberately moved some fish to show evidence of the improvement of the stream's water quality," a KFEM official said. KFEM quoted experts who say there is no natural way for dark chub to inhabit the Cheonggye Stream. They also raised suspicions on the existence of other species such as Korean striped and sp

May 24, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Bag, cell phone lost most in subway

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Bags and mobile phones account for the largest proportions of lost items on the subway, while some people have even accidentally left their dog behind. In March, a Shih Tzu dog was taken to the lost-and-found office of subway line No. 3, found near Geumho Station. The subway staff tried to find its owner by putting up posters of the dog in the area. However, the owner has yet to claim the lost dog and an employee is taking care of it. According to Seoul City, some 23,230 lost articles were found on subway lines 1 through 8 up until April this year, an average of 190 items per day. By item, 6,220 bags were 27 percent of the total missing articles, followed by 4,181 cellular phones at 18 percent. Some 1,276 people left cash totaling 84 million won ($76,000) and other passengers left bicycles or their dentures. "We call family members in the contact menu of mobile phones to try and find the owner," a city official said. "Bicycles are becoming increasing common among the lost things left behind. We once found a high-end bicycle worth 3 m

May 24, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Homeless people play soccer for hope

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is only a month away, but in prelude there was another fierce soccer match at the Son Gi-jeong Park in central Seoul, Thursday. A goodwill match played by homeless people between the "Hope F.C." and the "Bridge Self-Support Soccer Team" heated the ground for one hour. "I feel great when playing soccer," a homeless man, identified only as Kim, said after the game. "I couldn't deal with stress in the past so I drank a lot. But now, I rarely drink and instead, I play soccer as often as possible." The two teams are from drop-in facilities for the homeless. Some 100 homeless people came to cheer the teams representing their centers. There are five centers for homeless in Seoul - three near Seoul Station and two in Yeongdeungpo. The centers offer various programs and soccer is one of the most popular. The Hope F.C. was established last month with some 20 homeless people at the "Stand Up Again" drop-in center and now has 30 players, mostly in their 30s and 40s. They play at Icheon Park near the Han River fo

May 14, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Foreigners show off language skills

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Twenty-two foreigners from 16 countries showed off their Korean language skills by giving a speech about their experiences in Korea, its people and culture at the 13th World Korean Language Speech Contest for Foreigners held at Kyung Hee University, Friday. The contest was hosted by the university's Institute for International Education (IIE) and the 22 finalists were selected from among 1,119 applicants from 29 countries. "Some 4,000 expatriates from 70 countries have participated in the contest. It has grown to become a festival of communication for the citizens of the world," IIE Director Kim Jung-sup said. "I expect all people here to be connected through Korea and the Korean language." The themes for this year's contest were "Beauty of Korea," "Working Korea" and "Experiencing Korean Culture." Andrew Noonoo of the United States said Korea was more interesting than any television drama. "I had high expectations about Korea by watching Korean dramas before coming to Korea in 2008. However, the palaces and the Korean Folk Village i

May 14, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

South Korea

Gold smuggling surges on price hike

By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff reporter Gold has become the most popular commodity among investors across the globe these days in the wake of the continued global financial market jitters. Following the fiscal debt crisis engulfing Greece and other southern European economies in recent weeks, investors have rushed to purchase the precious metal en masse, pushing up the price of gold to an all-time high, while dumping emerging market stocks and other riskier assets. Additionally, the surging demand from China and other emerging economies has created a severe shortage of gold on the global market. With international prices soaring, a growing number of Koreans have been caught smuggling the precious metal out of the country at air and sea ports. Incheon Airport Customs said Thursday that it is investigating a person identified as Lee, 41, for having smuggled out some 53 kilograms of gold and platinum worth 2.4 billion won ($2.1 million) to Japan from last December up to May on 28 occasions, on charges of violating the Customs Law and the Foreign Exchange Control Act. Lee disg

May 14, 2010By Kwon Mee-yoo

Kwon Mee-yoo

Read more

Jajangmyeon prices show yawning gap

United Airlines introduces lie-flat seat

KBS, MBC to sue SBS for World Cup broadcasting

134 unionized teachers face dismissals in June

Please tone down campaign jingles!

Seoul suspected of releasing fish into Cheonggye Stream

Bag, cell phone lost most in subway

Homeless people play soccer for hope

Foreigners show off language skills

Gold smuggling surges on price hike

Top 5 stories